Women have been teaming up—and taking pies in the face—for a very long time. The tradition didn’t start with “Laverne and Shirley,” or even Lucy & Ethel. Comedy pioneer Hal Roach, under whose watchful eye Laurel and Hardy were partnered in the 1920s, was the mastermind behind two of the earliest teams. Roach first paired Anita Garvin and Marion Byron in the late ‘20s as a female version of Laurel and Hardy; in the early ‘30s, he tried again with Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts (with brash Patsy Kelly later replacing mousy Pitts).
“Female Comedy Teams,” a new DVD set of Roach short subjects from Filmmuseum München in Germany, will add a dozen of these early films to your video library. If you like to laugh, and laugh hard, you will want to get your hands on this wonderful two-disc set. Ten of the 12 shorts feature Todd (five apiece with Pitts and Kelly), the gorgeous blonde comedienne who died mysteriously in 1935. “Show Business” and “Asleep in the Feet,” both starring Pitts and Todd with Garvin in support, are virtually guaranteed to give you hysterics.
“A Pair of Tights,” one of the DVD’s two shorts starring Garvin and Byron (here with Edgar Kennedy), is rightfully regarded as one of the funniest films of its era. Byron co-starred opposite Buster Keaton in “Steamboat Bill Jr.” Garvin, an instinctive scene-stealer best known for her work in Laurel and Hardy films (notably “From Soup to Nuts”), is the subject of a forthcoming book by yours truly in collaboration with Randy Skretvedt.
“Vernon Dent: Stooge Heavy” pays homage to one of the movies’ most prolific (and most neglected) second bananas, best remembered for his work opposite Harry Langdon and later The Three Stooges. Bill Cassara, author of a prior book on character actor Edgar Kennedy, ferreted out a surprising amount of information on Dent; the extensive filmography, which details his efforts from 1919 to 1957, will never be complete due to the comic’s many unbilled appearances. (Available from BearManor Media).
More from Jordan:
Oscar winners and nominees of the 1920s & 1930s on DVD; Film Noir Trailers
Charley Chase’s silent comedies jump back to life on DVD
Silent comedy recall: Mack Sennett, Lloyd Hamilton, Glenn Tryon
Gift guide: ‘Complete Metropolis’ on Blu-ray and DVD; TCM Film Festival
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